Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-12-22
LODGE OF CHINESE MASONS.

A Native Organization Not Allied Direct
ly to the Well known +. 4. NJ.
Old Masons were until late Of the opin-
ion that no such q thing as . Chinese
Mason existed One gentleman said he
had seen Arabs and Turks who were good
Masons, but, to the best Of his knowledge,
no Chinaman was in the order. Never
theless, there are not only Chinese Ma
sons, but right here in New York there is
. Chinese Masonic lodge in full blast
with membership Of over 800. It is
native organization, not allied directly to
the Free and Accepted Masons, but said
to be founded on principles very nearly
akin.
The lodge room is at No 10 Mott street,
second door, front, and has recently been
remodeled and rcfitted in very good shape,
furniture is Of Chinese design, and i'm
ported from China expressly for the So
ciety at . great expense. A tall flagstaff,
with q rope for running up colors, is on
top Of the building. Above the door n
one enters the lodge room is a red sign in
native characters signifying Chinese Ma
two long slips Of red paper bearing mot
ohV VI thVSc -, Nv eOoa " oh9
another" and the other relates to tba
business of the order
The interior Is like most Chinese quAv-
tiers, only lighter, and not full Of St1d
turns and unsuspected corners. Immrdi-
ately on entering, one Ii led into a SOFT Of
ante room and thence into the main or
lodge room. At the lower end of this
room Is the altar, and q very valuable one
. Ia In sNh,,o A1 h<~,- In
an alcove in which q colored drawing is
suspended. 1t is not the least curious
thing in the place, the design being three
figures, one seated. and two others bend
ing over his shoulder The seated figure
represents the venerable father Of Chinese
Masonry. The face Is heavy, placid, and
adorned with . long black beard. The
other two are respectively the spirits Of
light and darkness. who are supposed to
be giving him counsel In front Of the
altar lamp Is hung. 1t II never extin-
guished, and burns in commemoration Of
the dead OF the order. Another emblem
is two sticks Of sandal wood punk thrust
into box OF sand. They keep smolder-
ing away and fill the air with . faint but
sweet perfume.
On the wall is q long board and on this
oAC PoSkS0 q SiSdt uutLiUCE Vi SucClS VI PsA-
per covered with Chinese hieroglyphics.
These are the lists Of members voted on in
the New York lodge. Near the roster
hang two books. One Of these is sent out
from the Supreme lodge at San Francisco,
AID gives . detailed account Of a number
n cases Of those in distress and sickness
and the whereabouts OF each one who
needs help. The other is subscription
took in which the various amounts sub
scribed are entered. At intervals these
two books and the amount raised are
transmitted to the Supreme lodge, from
which the dependent members arc re-
ueved.
Meetings are not held upon regular
aights, but at intervals decided upon by
the dignitaries of the order. as the neces-
stiles Of business may demand. The men,
hers are notified Of meetings, held gener-
ally on Sunday nights, by the appearance
Of . triangular flag at the top of the pole
IN top Of the house. The flag is white
and bears the picture Of huge red dragon
with its tail toward the point There are
grips, signs and passwords exactly as in
an American lodge. THE travelling card"
Of this society Is quite curiosity in it.
self 1t is a square Of red silk inscribed
with Chinese characters. and is q docu-
ment highly priced by all its possessors.
New York World.